Add “I” for Intersex to LGBT?

[Shana A]

Add "I" for Intersex to LGBT?

Since folks have asked about this, I thought I'd repost an insightful commentary on the question here. -Sherry Wolf

http://equalityacrossamerica.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/add-i-for-intersex-to-lgbt/

Adding the "I": Does Intersex Belong in the LGBT Movement?

by Emi Koyama, Intersex Initiative

Should LGBT groups add the "I" (for intersex) to their names, mission statements, etc.? That is the question many people are asking, but there is no simple answer.

There are a couple of reasons for adding the "I" to LGBT. First, intersex bodies are pathologized and erased in a way that is similar to how homosexuality has historically been treated within psychiatry. Even though homosexuality has been officially depathologized for three decades, transgender people are still labeled as having "gender identity disorder" and thus treated as something abnormal rather than a natural human variety. From this point of view, intersex is just another sexual minority that is pathologized and treated as "abnormal."

[LordKAT]

Add the whole alphabet, what the heck. Then maybe we can get an acronym type word.  I sometimes think less letters not more as in DOI Differing Orientations and Identities.

[Kay]

Heh.  I actually kind of like that one.  LGBTQI is starting to get a bit long... I often already forget whether the L or G comes first as it is. 
.

I sometimes think less letters not more as in DOI Differing Orientations and Identities.

[kyril]

I like SSGD (Sex, Sexuality, and Gender Diversity), although I don't remember where I first saw it.

I don't really have an opinion, as someone who's not intersex, on whether or not the "I" should be added. Obviously I don't think intersex people should be left out of the fight for human and civil rights, and those who want to be activists should obviously be included. But since they've not historically been a part of queer communities and cultures, I don't necessarily know that tacking them on to the end of the acronym is meaningful; the push for that would have to come from intersex people wanting to be included, not from LGBT people trying to be inclusive.

[LordKAT]

I like SSGD (Sex, Sexuality, and Gender Diversity), although I don't remember where I first saw it.

I don't really have an opinion, as someone who's not intersex, on whether or not the "I" should be added. Obviously I don't think intersex people should be left out of the fight for human and civil rights, and those who want to be activists should obviously be included. But since they've not historically been a part of queer communities and cultures, I don't necessarily know that tacking them on to the end of the acronym is meaningful; the push for that would have to come from intersex people wanting to be included, not from LGBT people trying to be inclusive.

And they often don't want to belong.

[rejennyrated]

And they often don't want to belong.

Hey I ressemble that

Actually I guess that makes me a QI which could be pretty neat cos its the title of a popular TV show over here hosted by Stephen Fry.

[Autumn]

Can we just go back to using Queer? That's what I use.

Plus, seriously, someone who's intersexed doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with gay rights.

[kyril]

Can we just go back to using Queer? That's what I use.

Plus, seriously, someone who's intersexed doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with gay rights.

While that's true, it's also true for "passing" bisexuals and straight or bi trans people. Heck, lesbians and gay men don't even always have the same needs - sodomy laws don't mean much to most lesbians, nor is HIV a major threat, and feminism isn't necessarily a priority for all gay men.

The LGBT alliance is based on a combination of shared history and pragmatism - we can accomplish more together than we can separately. And if intersex people want to align themselves with it, if they want to support LGBT causes and  write about intersex rights in the context of a larger fight for the rights of sexual minorities, if they start appending the "I" to the end of the acronym in their writing, then sure, that's wonderful, there's room for everyone, and we can reciprocate by doing the same. I just don't think it's a good idea for us to appropriate intersex, append the "I" unilaterally, and pat ourselves on the back for being inclusive when we're not really doing anything meaningful.

[rejennyrated]

Can we just go back to using Queer? That's what I use.

Plus, seriously, someone who's intersexed doesn't necessarily have anything at all to do with gay rights.

I don't like the term Queer - it's what my stepfather's generation (he was born in 1905) used to call someone who was Gay when they were abusing them and were like one step away from hitting them in a homophobic attack. It's a word that still sends shivers for me when I hear it.

anyway happily some of us from the Intersex side do feel a part of the alliance.